9/11 Conspiracies Essay

On September 11th, 2001, Islamic terrorists hijacked four passenger airlines. Two of the planes flew into the twin towers; one plane flew into the Pentagon; and the other plane was aimed at Washington D.C., but was taken over by passengers on the plane and crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In total, nearly 3,000 people died including 227 civilians on the plane and 19 hijackers. These hijackers were believed to be under the command of Osama Bin Laden, the head of the terrorist group Al Qaeda. However, the question of whether these attacks are truly as the government has portrayed or whether they actually part of a larger scheme to justify war in Iraq has come into light in recent years. Many individuals criticize the story told by the federal government and create alternate theories that explain some confusion with the attacks. The most popular and convincing of these theories is the controlled demolition and collapse of the twin towers by the federal government. The radical side of the political left was the first to start the conspiracy theories concerning 9/11. People have always had a deep distrust of our government. The most convincing of the theories about 9/11 is the strategic placement of bombs in the three buildings to cause a collapse (NewsOne, 2012). When you watch the videos of the collapsing towers, it looks like a controlled demolition instead of what one would expect from a building just hit by a plane or collapsing from a fire (Brain, 2013). The buildings collapse in on themselves rather than burning from the bottom up which creates a gargantuan amount of skepticism as to the accuracy of the story told by the government. So when people see something that doesn’t make sense, such as how three buildings collapsed from a fire, it begs lots of questions (Brain, 2013). This allowed many cu rious conspirators with an abundance of time on their hands to snoop around and see what they could possibly find that would better explain the actual cause of the collapse of the three buildings, disproving the official story expressed by the government. It is also important to understand how conspiracy theorists  build their case to perpetuate certain conspiracies. Upon examining the collapse of the north tower, the south tower, and WTC 7, it is easily determined that the collapse of these three buildings is not only unusual, it is almost unbelievable. No skyscraper has ever collapsed by a fire alone; however, on the day of the attacks, a blaze took down three separate towers. It is highly improbable that such a fire would take down two skyscrapers that stood 110 stories high and an additional building that was never touched by a plane. These discrepancies grant conspirators a form of â€Å"credibility† that makes their theories believable to many people. Although the official story may seem a bit anomalous, that doesn’t necessarily give a reason why people believe it. Scandals like the Iran-Contra affair with President Reagan and the Watergate Scandal with President Nixon create a deep distrust with many people and their government when such scandals prove that the government and its leaders deliberately mislead or lie to the public. So much so that people often look to find things that the government could be lying about or covering up. When conspirators start to gather evidence for their theories, this same process occurs (Brain, 2013). After discovering scandals involving the federal government, it’s impossible to trust all of the official stories told by the government. Furthermore, even if the collapse of the north and south towers is believable, the collapse of the third building is extremely difficult to believe as it was never touched by a plane. It seems impossible that a building that was never touched by anything except fire would completely collapse if no tower has ever been completely destroyed by a fire before (911Truth, n.d.) . According to Van Romero, an explosives expert and Vice President of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, there had to have been explosives in the building for it to have collapsed in such a demolition-like manner. Additionally, the controlled explosions that were theorized to have taken place in the towers have been accredited with puffs of dust and debris seen being shot out from the building (Popular Mechanics, 2013). There is no way to explain the puffs of dust shooting out of the buildings from a mere fire that caused a collapse of the building without there being an external force of explosions. Because of the suspicious circumstances of the 9/11 event, there must be some amount of skepticism. The government and its leaders are historically proven to not be above lying to the public from instances like  Watergate and Iran-Contra affair. 9/11 could just as easily be the same way. Without clear answers to these questions the reality of an inside job is immense and cannot be overlooked. Although there are many who refuse to believe the official story told by the federal government, there are also large quantities of people who do believe the official story. Many people consider the World Trade Center collapse as a highly unlikely scenario unless additional force was added to bring the building down. However, others find it extremely difficult to believe that the government would commit such an atrocity and would instead argue that the structure of the building and widespread damage from debris were the main contributors to the collapse of the buildings (Popular Mechanics, 2013). Without solid proof, it is preposterous to believe a theory that does not have any facts or basis for the assertions that it makes. For example, many often believe that even if the terrorist attacks on 9/11 were true, there are still some unanswered questions. Conspiracy theorists are quick to draw a link between the 9/11 attacks and the war in Iraq claiming it was a justification for invasion as support of it being a government conspiracy. However, this is clearly false in that the justification in the intervention in Iraq was the risk that Sadam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction meaning that 9/11 was not needed as justification for the war in Iraq. Another reason the notion of inside job is ludicrous is because it would be impossible for all of the media to gloss over such an event had it been a governmental conspiracy. There are also no hard facts for conspirators to base their theories on meaning there is no reason to believe them. To understand the collapse of the towers it is important to understand the structure of the buildings. The twin towers were created using â€Å"innovative† design. It was built with central core columns like most other buildings. However, instead of reinforcing the columns with fireproof concrete, they decided to fortify the columns using a sprayed on form of fire proofing called â€Å"Passive† fire proofing, which was much faster but also less effective (debunking911). This is what allowed the jet fuel from the plane to be so deadly. Many people argue that jet fuel is not near hot enough to melt steel, which is actually true. However, jet fuel burns between 800 and 1500 degrees Fahrenheit while the melting point of steel is around 2750 degrees Fahrenheit. Most experts agree though that the steel doesn’t need to melt for the entire building to  collapse. According to Farid Alfawak-hiri, the senior engineer of the American Institute of Steel Construction says th at at 1100 degrees Fahrenheit, Steel loses 50 percent of its strength. At 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, Steel is less than 10 percent. This immense heat can then cause Steel to become bent and warped which can in turn collapse the entire building (Popular Mechanics 2013). The first plane crashed into the 94th through the 98th floors of the first tower; the second plane crashed into the 78th through 84th floors of the south building. Additionally, there was damage in both of the lobbies of the buildings before the collapse of the two towers. Conspirators make a common claim that the planes could not have caused that much damage to go through over 80 floors to reach the lobby without some sort of explosive material. However, The National institutes of Standards and Technology released a report revealing that the debris of the plane had sliced through the elevator shaft which created an outlet for jet fuel. If the fuel came into contact with any combustible sources, it would immediately explode causing severe damage. Jet fuel traveling down the elevator shaft would cause extensive damage to the lobby as well. A similar observation as to the cause of the damage in the lobby was noted in the South’s building also (Popular Mechanics 2013). This fact illustrates the improbability of explosives being needed to cause a collapse of the skyscrapers. Despite the plethora of convincing theories about the attack of September 11th, many people will still continue to remain unconvinced due to the lack of evidence, even if the government was truly involved with the collapse of the twin towers. Furthermore, people who don’t believe the conspiracies about the twin towers would contend that the actual structure of the building and the intense launching of debris from the crash were the causes to the collapse of the towers, not bombs planted by the government. The lack of factual evidence on the side of the conscripts coupled with the overwhelming evidence that the government was not involved makes i t nearly impossible to believe that 9/11 was an inside job. References Brain, M. (n.d.). How Conspiracy Theories Work. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from http://people.howstuffworks.com/conspiracy-theory2.htm Debunking 9/11 Conspiracy Theories and Controlled Demolition Myths – Government Planning. (n.d.). Debunking 9/11 Conspiracy Theories and Controlled Demolition Myths – Government Planning. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from http://www.debunking911.com/meeting.htm Popular Mechanics. (n.d.). Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report – The World Trade Center. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/news/debunking-911-myths-world-trade-center â€Å"Reality Check: More American’s are â€Å"Rethinking† 9/11† 9/11?. (n.d.). 911Truthorg. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from http://www.911truth.org/tag/controlled-demolition/ The 11 Most Compelling 9/11 Conspiracy Theories. (2012, September 11). News One RSS. Retrieved February 2, 2014, from http://newsone.com/742485/the-11-most-compelling-911-conspiracy-theories/

Consumer Buying Behavior for Life Insurance

Consumer buying behavior is nothing but their needs, which arouse them to buy. There is hierarchy of need from high level to low level. They initiate to buy their high level need after completed that they move for another need. Consumers 1st recognize their need or problem then gather information about that product. They get many alternatives regarding that product then they evaluate each and every criterion, which give them bundle of attribute towards that product. Now they choose among one of them to buy and they make decision to buy that product. There are some factors influence them to buy.These are cultural factor, social factor and demographic factors. ? Culture factors include their region, culture and their social classes, which is based on their education and occupation. ? Social factors include reference, groups and family, which influence them to buy according to their choice. People buy product according to its role and status. ? Demographic factors includes age group, pe rsonality, occupation, life style etc. people buy product according to under comes all these factors. Introduction Insurance has got its origin from the concept of Indemnity.Indemnity against to loss, it has occurred due to some unavoidable circumstances. To some, the concept of insurance has got its origin related to the uncertainty in the life. Uncertainty has been the integral part of everyone's life, be the uncertainty in terms of money, uncertainty in terms of life etc. Throughout the tenure every other individual's effort is directed towards avoiding this uncertainty. The concept of insurance has got its origin from this very effort of avoiding the uncertainty. Though it is not possible to avoid the uncertainty, it is highly possible to compensate the loss, which has occurredVIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 6 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY due to happening of this uncertainty. This compensation of unavoidable circumstances (uncertainty ), which has occurred, is known as Insurance. It is the pooling of funds by many to compensate the loss of few, whereby many individuals pool themselves together to create a fund in order to compensate the loss that has occurred to the few. Insurance as we know today can be traced to the Great Fire of London which, in 1666 AD, destroyed 13200 houses.In the aftermath of this disaster, Nicholas Barbon opened an office to insure buildings. In 1680, he established England's first fire insurance company, â€Å"The Fire Office†, to insure brick and frame homes. Gradually the concept of insurance came to be understood as a contract that offered the purchaser protection against the financial loss due to specific incident. Since the risk of financial loss was to be spread amongst the large group of people, the extent of financial loss, In the event of mishap occurred, became less devastating to the individual.Though the concept of insurance is old as history of mankind, back to some 6 000 years, it got its presence registered in India somewhere in 1818 with opening up of Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta by Europeans. During those years Indians were considered as substandard and they were forced to give high premium on account of their low profile. However with the continuous effort of few eminent people Indians were later considered as of equal status and they were charged the normal rate, at par with the Europeans.This was majorly due to the establishment of first Indian life Insurance company, Bombay Mutual Life Assurance society in the year 1870. Later on the development of Indian life insurance industry was more fired by the patriotic sentiments and gave rise to number of Indian life insurance companies viz. United India in Madras, National Indian and National Insurance in Calcutta and the Co-operative Assurance at Lahore were amongst those company which was formed to treat the Indian populace at par.With increase in the pressure from Indian intell ect, to give the Indian Insurance industry an organized structure, Government of India was forced to pass Life insurance Companies act, 1912 and Provident Fund act. But this was not the end to the suffering of Indian populace that even this act recognized the demarcation between the Europeans and Indian while charging the premium, then came the act of 1938 which not only governed the Life Insurance Industry but also had its spread VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 7 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY to the Non life Insurance Industry.With the increase in atrocities from all these companies, the demand to amend the prevailing act of 1938 assumed velocity. Thus in the year 1956 the act was passed as Life Insurance Corporation act, 1956 on 19th June, 1956 which called for nationalization of all the Insurance company working in India under one name as Life insurance corporation of India (hereafter LIC). Thus LIC was formed on 1st September 1956, wit h an objective to spread life insurance especially in rural areas as a mean to provide the protection cover to the life of Indian populace and as tool to help them in the time of financial need at a reasonable cost.Till 1999 LIC was the only life insurance player in Indian Life Insurance field, when government of India decided to amend the then prevailing act prohibiting the private life insurance player to enter the Indian market. It was Insurance Regulatory Authority, 1999 (IRA) that gave the freedom the private players to play in the field. But the basic motive for introducing such an act was not fulfilled as the amended act was meant for only regulation purpose only and not as a development tool and hence the act was further modified to add the element of development to the concept and thus came the current prevailing act i. . Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), 1999. It was further amended to incorporate the element of competitiveness. Thus Government of Indi a via IRDA permitted the private Life Insurance player also to enter the Indian field; and made some provision for foreign insurance companies that if they want to enter the Indian market they can do so but to the extent of 26 % of share only with any of Indian partner. Today almost 15 private life insurance companies are working India, some in wholly owned format and some as a joint venture with foreign company or with Indian company.Together they hold the market share of approx. 24 % in life insurance market. Still LIC holds the kingship with almost 76 % of market share. That's the good news for the LIC people on one part but on another aspect if we deal that shows the pace at which the private life insurance companies are moving, they are defiantly going to give the tough fight to LIC. The leadership lies not in getting the maximum out of market share but it is there somewhere in understanding the reason for the choice of one product over another one. VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABADPage 8 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY Consumer hierarchy of needIt is important to understand the relevance of human needs to buyer behavior remember, marketing is about satisfying needs). Need as a physiological or psychological deficiency a person feels the compulsion to safety, suggesting that need creates tension that can influence a person’s work attitudes and behavior. Customers set an order for their needs from high level – low level need. They prefer 1st, which is most essential for them, after completed that, they give privilege to next need.There are five needs exist in a hierarchy – Need- Physiological needs such as food, air, water, heat, and the basic necessities of survival need to be satisfied. Safety -Need for a secure environment, protection and stability in the events of day to day’s life, Such as life insurance. It make people tension free about any risk at their life. Society- At the third level we meet our social and belongingness needs i. e. we marry, or join groups of friends, etc. person paying tax according to their income, feels the social responsibility and acceptance by society as a good citizen.Life insurance is also a part of the social needs, which reduce the tax and also cover the risk with the attribution of facilities towards plans. Esteem- Esteem means that you achieve something that makes you recognized and gives personal satisfaction, example writing a book, investment for family obligation or have a pension plan for support at future, which arise self respect insight a person. Self actualization – Self actualization is achieved by few. Here a person is one of a small number to actually do something.For example, Neil Armstrong self-actualized as the first person to reach the Moon. The study of how and why people purchase goods and services is termed consumer buying behavior. The term covers the decision-making processes from those that precede the p urchase of goods or services to the final experience of using the product or service. Models of consumer VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 9 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY buying behavior draw together the various influences on, and the process of, the buying decision.They attempt to understand what happens within the consumer between his or her exposure to marketing stimuli and the actual decision to purchase. Characteristics of Indian consumer behavior The Indian consumers are noted for the high degree of value orientation. Such orientation to value has labeled Indians as one of the most discerning consumers in the world. Even, luxury brands have to design a unique pricing strategy in order to get a foothold in the Indian market. Indian consumers have a high degree of family orientation.This orientation in fact, extends to the extended family and friends as well. Brands with identities that support family values tend to be popular and accep ted easily in the Indian market. Indian consumers are also associated with values of nurturing, care and affection. These values are far more dominant that values of ambition and achievement. Product which communicate feelings and emotions†¦ What is insurance? Insurance is a policy from a large financial institution that offers a person, company, or other entity reimbursement or financial protection against possible future losses or damages.The meaning of insurance is important to understand for anybody that is considering buying an insurance policy or simply understanding the basics of finance. Insurance is a hedging Instrument used as a precautionary measure against future contingent losses. This instrument is used for managing the possible risks of the future. What is life insurance? Life Insurance is the key to good financial planning. On one hand, it safeguards your money and on the other, ensures its growth, thus providing you with complete financial well being.Life Insur ance can be termed as an agreement between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer for a consideration agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured individual's or individuals' death or other event, such as terminal illness, critical illness or VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 10 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY maturity of the policy. Life insurance plans, unlike mutual funds, are beneficial when you look at them as a long term avenue of investment which also offers protection through life cover. Life insurance policies are broadly categorized into two Types- Traditional Plans ? Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) Traditional planTraditional policies offer in-built guarantees and define maturity benefits through variety of products such as guaranteed maturity value. The investment risk in traditional life insurance policies is borne by life insurance companies. Additionally, the investment decisions are regulate d to a large extent by IRDA rules and regulations, ensuring stable returns with minimal risk. Investment income is distributed amongst the policy holders through annual bonus. These policies are ideal for policy holders who are not market savvy and do not wish to take investment risks.Term planTerm Insurance helps the customers in safeguarding their families from financial worries that rise due to unfortunate circumstances. Term plans are pure risk cover plans with or without maturity benefits. These pure risk plans cover your life at a nominal cost Term plans also let you avail the benefit to cover your outstanding debts like mortgage, home loan etc. In case of something happens to you, the financial burden is borne by the insurance company and not your loved ones. VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 11 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICYTerm plan offers following benefits? High insurance Cover at lower costs ? Financial security against loans and mortgages, ? Single premium payment option available Whole life policy? As the name suggests, a Whole Life Policy is an insurance cover against death, irrespective of when it happens. ? Under this plan, the policyholder pays regular premiums until his death, following which the money is handed over to his family. Endowment policyCombining risk cover with financial savings, endowment policies is the most popular policies in the world of life insurance. In an Endowment Policy, the sum assured is payable even if the insured survives the policy term. ? If the insured dies during the tenure of the policy, the insurance firm has to pay the sum assured just as any other pure risk cover. ? A pure endowment policy is also a form of financial saving, whereby if the person covered remains alive beyond the tenure of the policy; he gets back the sum assured with some other investment benefits. In addition to the basic policy, insurers offer various benefits such as double endowment and marriage/ education endowment plans.The cost of such a policy is slightly higher but worth its value. Money back policy? These policies are structured to provide sums required as anticipated expenses (marriage, education etc) over a stipulated period of time. With inflation becoming a big issue, companies have realized that sometimes the money value of the policy is eroded. That is VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 12 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY why with-profit policies are also being introduced to offset some of the losses incurred on account of inflation. ?A portion of the sum assured is payable at regular intervals. On survival the remainder of the sum assured is payable. ? ? In case of death, the full sum assured is payable to the insured. The premium is payable for a particular period of time. Annuities and pensionIn an annuity, the insurer agrees to pay the insured a stipulated sum of money periodically. The purpose of an annuity is to protect against risk as well as provide money in the form of pension at regular intervals. Over the years, insurers have added various features to basic insurance policies in order to address specific needs of a cross section of people.ULIP planUnit linked insurance plan (ULIP) is life insurance solution that provides for the benefits of risk protection and flexibility in investment. The investment is denoted as units and is represented by the value that it has attained called as Net Asset Value (NAV). The policy value at any time varies according to the value of the underlying assets at the time. In a ULIP, the invested amount of the premiums after deducting for all the charges and premium for risk cover under all policies in a particular fund as chosen by the policy holders are pooled together to form a Unit fund.A Unit is the component of the Fund in a Unit Linked Insurance Policy. The returns in a ULIP depend upon the performance of the fund in the capital market. ULIP investors have t he option of investing across various schemes, i. e. , diversified equity funds, balanced funds, debt funds etc. It is important to remember that in a ULIP, the investment risk is generally borne by their investor. Life insurance companies in IndiaIn India, Insurance is a national matter, in which life and general insurance is yet a booming sector with huge possibilities for different global companies, as life insurance premiums ccount to 2. 5% and general insurance premiums account to 0. 65% of India's GDP. The Indian Insurance sector has gone through several phases and changes, especially after 1999, when the Govt. of VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 13 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY India opened up the insurance sector for private companies to solicit insurance, allowing FDI up to 26%. Since then, the Insurance sector in India is considered as a flourishing market amongst global insurance companies. However, the largest life insurance com pany in India is still owned by the government.Top 5 life insurance Company in India? Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC): This remains the largest insurance company in India and is owned by the government. In 2008, LIC accounted for 64 percent market share. Although it is still the market leader, the company has to battle against the innovative strategies and better sales force of private enterprises. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) registered an 83 per cent increase in new business income in March 2010, while private players posted a 47 per cent growth in new business premium. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance: This life insurance companies has attracted a loyal customer base with great customer support and a wide range of cheap policies to choose from. ? Bajaj Allianz general Insurance: This private company has been rising steadily in terms of market capture. It now sells the second most number of insurance policies in India after LIC and has been growing at a fast pace since 2006. ? Birla Sun Life Insurance: This Company has played its cards well. It offers a variety of insurance policies for the customers to choose from, provides them with attractive deals and offers great customer service and support.There is no reason why people shouldn’t prefer this one. VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 14 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY ? SBI Life: Though a little slow on the marketing propaganda, SBI Life has been consistently growing in the Indian life insurance market because of good service and a great brand image. Consumer perception for life insurance – According to the need life insurance is the second need of people, because nobody knows about future. Life is suffering from full of risk and incidents. Nobody knows that what would be a financial condition in coming time.To be secure about future people are speedily holding insurance policy. Insurance is actually a protection against economic l oss, by sharing the risk with others. â€Å"Consumers need Life Insurance because typically the need for income continues for those who are financially dependent on them, but there is no guarantee of their ability to earn consistently and for the rest of their life. Life insurance can help them safeguard the financial needs of their family. This need has become even more important due to steady disintegration of the prevalent Joint family system and emergence of nuclear families.The need to protect their family's ever growing needs is why they need Life Insurance†. Consumer buying behavior for buying life insurance policyA consumer buying behavior starts from need/requirement for product, then evaluation about product and decide product, which gives better satisfaction then take decision for buying. ? Need- Need or requirement is a primary model for buying a life insurance. A need arouse people to act of buy. Different person have different purpose for buying life insurance s uch as: investment for future security or family obligation (children education, children marriage) or risk cover.If there are individuals who depend on you for financial support, or if you work at home providing your family with such services as child care, cooking, and cleaning, you need life insurance. Older couples also may need life insurance to protect a surviving spouse against the possibility of the couple's retirement savings being depleted by unexpected medical expenses. And individuals with substantial VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 15 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY assets may need life insurance to help reduce the effects of estate taxes or to transfer wealth to future generations. Information search- After recognize need, they search for limited amount of information regarding loyal companies, and its plan according to their desire. At the next level the person may enter an active information search: looking for regarding insu rance, phoning friend, go online, meet to salesman and advertisement are rich source to gather information. ? Evaluation of alternatives- Having information about many companies, they evaluate which company giving better plan according to their’ admire within the budget. Second they look for certain benefits from the policy and stability of company.Third customer see Each insurance as a bundle of attributes with varying abilities for delivering the benefit sought to satisfy their need such as: ? ? Face Value — The original death benefit amount. Convertibility — Option to convert from one type of policy to another (whole life), usually without a physical examination. ? ? ? ? Cash Value — The savings portion of a policy that can be borrowed against or cashed in. Premiums — Monthly, quarterly, or yearly payments required to maintain coverage. Beneficiary — The individual(s) or entity (trust) that is designated as benefit recipient.Paid Up †” A policy requiring no further premium payments due to prepayment or earnings. ? â€Å"Customers evaluate all positive and negative point of services according to importance and give preference to a better plan provided by company. † Purchase decision-. In the evaluation stage, customer form preference among the company, full filling their requirements. But there are few factors, which can divert consumer mind set. ? Other person can make them advice for another investment like: share market, bond, mutual fund and bank deposit or other alternatives. VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 16CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY ? ? ? ? ? ? ? An unsatisfied policy holder can divert their mind. Customer is not getting a loyal salesperson. Customer is influenced by perceived risk for losing money. The policy is not giving up as ones expected. They attracted for other best investment. Ones may be a policy holder and not getting benefit as ones expec ted, so he is not getting decision for buy. Customer may be from rural area, he is not getting belief at company cause of conservative thinking. â€Å"If Customers get satisfaction struggling from these all factor, then they make decide for buy insurance policy. The Purchase Decision The purchase decision in general is prompt by number of factors viz. Psycho graphical, Economical, Social, Political legal and Demographical.The list is not exhaustive but it is sufficient to have the deep understanding of the factors influencing the decision. Psycho graphical Factors are those factors, which includes the behavioral aspect of the individual viz. lifestyle, living standard. Here purchase decision in influenced by those issues that affect the lifestyle of the consumer or in the other that reflects the status. For e. g. purchase decision related to buying of car and that to Mercedes Benz. Talking specifically to the insurance sector, here customer will buy only that policy that has got hi gh premium or that type of policy which company is promoting to limited high-income level group only. For e. g. â€Å"Classic Life premier† policy of Birla Sun life insurance is meant for only those individual who can pay at least Rs. 25000/- per annum. Economical factorEconomical factors affect the purchase decision by influencing the issues pertaining to money and income level of the individual.Consumer will buy only that product which will not have any VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 17 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY negative effect on his pocket. For e. g. decision to buy an insurance policy is influenced by the deepness in the pocket. Social factorSocial factor affect the purchase decision by influencing the issues pertaining to social beliefs and morals. Person influenced by group and their family members. They buy mostly same plan from same company whether their friends or family members have it.Some time if ones want to buy a new plan from other companies, their family member remorse them to buy it. Political factorsPolitico legal is the macro level environment. It effects in a way, say IRDA has restricted the sale of Key Man Insurance policy through Term Plan only. Demographic factorDemographical factor is that factor which has got the maximum of its effect in the purchase decision of the product and especially if that product is life insurance product. It is so because these factors incorporate other above said factors and includes those factors that can influence the buying decision to maximum extent viz.Occupational factor (service/business), Age factor, Gender, Marital status factor and Income level etc. It cannot be denied that buying decision of the individual who is unmarried and is into business, having the income level of the range Rs. 2. 4 lakhs per annum, is into the age group of say 25 years have the entirely different approach towards purchase of the life insurance policy with the individu al who is into service and is married, is into the age group of, say 35, and is earning Rs. 30000/- per month.Keeping the above phenomena under consideration a study was conducted to know exactly to what extent Demographical factor has got its influence in purchase decision of the life insurance product. VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 18 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY The Study This study, which was conducted in the city of Bangarmau (Utter Pradesh), covered almost 50 individual of different status. The duration of the study was almost one month. The method which we used to collect the information was through questionnaire and personnel interview.The data so collected was grouped according to the company of the consumer's choice from where they have purchased the product and further it was analyzed that what was the demographic profile of that consumer and result was thus generalized. The study covered 50 individuals, of which 84 % were fo und insured and 16 % uninsured. Of the total insured 75% were from 21-45 age group and 25 % were from age group 46-60. It was 78 % of the male who was there in the total insured and rest 22% were female. Occupation wise 40 % of the total insured were into service and 60 % into business.Thus the overall penetration of companies in to the psyche of consumer buying preference (based on the customer's purchase of a company's life insurance policy) is given in the graph as under: Types of consumer- There are two kinds of customers according to their region? Urban customer? Rural customer- I did my research in rural area. It is my home town name is Bangarmau. I find that people having lack of knowledge and awareness about life insurance. Here insurance adviser playing a vital role to make them aware and convenience them for buying life insurance policy.In the exact word I can say that people don’t buy policy here, they buy belief of adviser. They buy it on the basis of reputation a nd loyalty of insurance adviser. Here customer do not worry about their security, they buy it as a investment, which should give them good return in very short of time. I find that if adviser does not push them for having life insurance, number of people would be very less to buy life insurance. VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 19 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY The main factor is unawareness, that’s why they do not believe at Pvt Company.They have fear about lost their money, because they don’t know what IRDA is and what it is work. QuestionnairesI prepared 13 questionnaires to know about consumers’ perception for buying life insurance policy. 1-Whether you have life insurance policy? life insurance 50 40 30 20 10 0 yes No 8 yes No 42 2- As what purpose did you buy it? VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 20 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY policy holder investment family obligation sa ving tax 10% 19% 71% 3-If yes, which company life insurance you have? COMPANYNO. OF POLICY (x-8. 4) HOLDER (x) S. D. LIC SBI Reliance ICICI Bajaj 26 4 6 0 6 17. 6 -4. 4 -2. 4 -8. 4 -2. 4 9. 11 I did survey around 50 people at Bangarmau. I find that consumer mostly prefer LIC for life insurance. Actually it is a business town and people do not have enough knowledge about regulatory authority, that’s why they do not believe on other Pvt. companies. I got above 60% people have policy of LIC out of 42 policyholder. VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 21 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY Three more Pvt.Insurance companies are providing service at Bangarmau, but consumers are less responsive for those companies, it is less than 40 % customer hold by these companies. Mean for all these customer towards company is 8. 4 and standard deviation is 9. 11. 4-What was the source of medium, you buy it? T. V. Insurance adviser Other 6 34 2 Here customer do not go at company to buy policy, they always need a agent to make them understand about the better plans and companies, which is good service responsiveness. Those people belong to the service sector, they influenced towards TV and other sources for buying policy -What is the feature of your policy attracted to you? Low premium High risk coverage Money back guarantee Reputation of company Agents convictions 2 2 12 3 23 VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABADPage 22 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY Most of the policyholder in this region are businessman, they need only high growth of their money that’s why they maximum attracted by money back guarantee, but agent attracted them a lot. They make them understand better plans. Customer influenced by agents behavior and they believe upon company, what they suggest them. -Now you are satisfied with your policy? Satisfied Not satisfied Not respondent 36 4 2 7- People perception at appropriate age for buy ing life insurance policy? VIGNANA JYOTHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, HYDERABAD Page 23 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR FOR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY Age No. (X) Mean Standard deviation < 25 year 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 above 3 15 12 5 5 2 0. 6 3 2. 4 1 1 0. 4 1. 07 5. 36 4. 29 1. 78 1. 76 0. 71 Customer belongs to 25 -45 maximum prefer the insurance policy sake of growth of money and saving the tax. People, who are less than 25 year are students,

Is there anything we can do to save the environment Essay

Is there anything we can do to save the environment - Essay Example Various aspects of going green can be used in such an initiative. To begin with, the world should start by the initiative of planting trees. Over the last decade, the world has experienced massive deforestation, where many trees are used as a source of energy, raw materials, and other uses. This has had a dire effect on the climate change, especially when looking at the ratio of gases in the air. With massive deforestation, the numbers of trees that purify the air are reduced. As such, there will be excessive carbon in the air. This will pose a danger to environmental conservation, as the initiatives will not be optimized. To rectify such a situation, there is a need to reflect on the positivity of planting trees on large scale (Cook 140). For example, the late Professor Wangari Maathai initiated the Greenbelt movement. This was an initiative to help in conserving the environment from the forecasted climate change. Through the initiative, she was awarded a Nobel Prize. This shows tha t the world is appreciating such initiatives in ensuring the world is conserved to the highest limits. Secondly, there is a need to stop deforestation. Many countries across the globe have initiated strict penalties on deforestation, as it is a threat to the world’s ecosystems. Therefore, this initiative should be enhanced in the whole world, as it will be a prudent approach in conserving the environment. According to research, the population of trees in the world has been drastically reducing.

Proponents of the Defamation Act 2013 hailed it as a milestone for Essay

Proponents of the Defamation Act 2013 hailed it as a milestone for freedom of expression. In light of this, critically consider whether and to what extent the Act has the effect that is attributed to it - Essay Example As of October 2013, most High Court judges had thrown out two dozens of cases brought forward by wealthy people or foreigners about claims published mostly by the media. This has curbed the behaviour of people of exploiting England courts. Throwing out most of the cases, Judges have described claimants endeavours as an abuse of law or process, claiming that it they were harming the England and Wales reputation by making their country seem like they do not respect peoples’ freedom of expression. Allowing such case to move on endangers unequal and needless interference with freedom of expression. Judges today are stressing that claimants have to present considerable harm to their repute in England courts in order for the suits to succeed. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to take your claim to court. This is a significant ruling because it now prevents people for making use of the law when the matter is not that

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 15

Report - Essay Example According to the Oxy Chemical case, the message is important to top management cadre, employees, and also the public in general. The integration of drug test policy in the organization will help the organization achieve its desired goals and objectives without any setbacks resulting from employee health and safety within the workplace. Drug use and abuse of substance has a negative effect on employees’ performance. As a result, it is imperative for the organization to carry out various intervention strategies and procedures that will curb the problem. According to President Morgan, employees’ drug test in the organization will have a positive impact on employees’ production capacity and promote corporate social responsibility. Morgan argued that alienation of workers from the organization does not solve the entire issue of drug use and substance. Therefore, initiating a procedure through which employees undertake drug testing will help the society, resulting into a positive corporate image (USDL 3). Drug use and abuse of substance can only be mitigated through correction and improvement procedures among employees in order to increase production capacity. Drug testing regulations and laws vary from one country to the other. The implementation of drug testing policies among employees is necessary in some large organizations that have high sensitive jobs. Some governments may prohibit or allow drug test policies for employees in the workplace. For instance, Indian does not have a particular law that prohibits or encourage employees to carry out drug testing. Therefore, the organization is left with the sole responsibility to determine whether to perform drug testing. The Oxy Chemical plant President proposed drug testing among employees aimed at rectifying and improving health standards within the workplace.

See below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

See below - Essay Example the experiences of the six year old protagonist, ‘Scout’ who learns the harsh facts of the life and comes out a winner because they teach her the fundamental lesson that life is not always easy to understand and all people, irrespective of color, race or social status have the right to live with dignity. She learnt that â€Å"you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view..† (Atticus, 30). The book has been a reflection of the experiences of the author who had seen the destructive and irredeemable harms of the racial discriminatory practices that were deliberately inflicted on the less privileged segment of the society. It is true that early twentieth century did see some constitutional reforms regarding racial discrimination but unfortunately till 1960s, little efforts were made to implement them. The book has explored the crucial issue of racial prejudices in a manner that has managed to stir the sensitivity of the masses provoking them to question the legitimacy of such practices in the times when America was advocating for democratic values and equal rights. Its has aptly been titled in the light of the prevailing social paradigms that supported the oppressions of the black and believed them to be inferior. The book revolves around the family of the protagonist, Scout, her brother Jem and their father Atticus Finch, a well respected lawyer, who is against any racial or class prejudice and instills the same values in his two children. They live in a southern Alabama in Maycomb where the impact of great depression is visible in its class division. â€Å"People moved slowly then†¦ nothing to buy, and no money to buy it with..† (Scout, 11).  The father teaches the important values through examples and says "..but before I can live with other folks Ive got to live with myself.   The one thing that doesnt abide by majority rule is a persons conscience" (Atticus, 114). He employs a colored woman, Calpurnia as his

Sap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sap - Essay Example These posting keys are also crucial in controlling entries to be made in the line items. A statistical key figure is utilized in allocating internal costs between different cost centers that utilize services related to other cost centers (Padhi, 168). In this case, statistical key figures can be machine hour or the head count of any cost center. During the processing of a sales order, SAP R/3 utilizes a system of allocating prices to materials and products known as the condition technique. In allocating costs, there are three distinct methods utilized under SAP. The assessment method transfers primary and secondary costs from the dispatching cost center to the receiving control object. During utilization of this method, various business processes and cost centers can take the place of the sender, whereas a cost object, internal order or a cost center are the receivers of the assessment. The user can restrict the number of receiver categories through customization, where both the prim ary and secondary postings are allocated at the end of each period through utilization of user defined keys (Padhi, 175). With the distribution method, primary costs are transferred to receiving controlling objects form the sender cost center. In this method, the sender is restricted to cost centers and business processes only. The receiver can be an internal order, cost center or a business process. Primary postings are collected an each cost center and allocated through use of the user defined key at the end of each period. Under this method, distribution is restricted to primary costs, whereas the original cost elements remain unchanged. However, reversal of distributions is possible (Padhi, 180). Qn.2 CO documents are those controlling documents available to the company and are generated by the SAP system. These documents are mostly used for control purposes by the management. These documents include invoices and memos for utilization by customers and vendors. Included in this l ist are vendor and customer payment as well as general document whose transactions are posted in the general ledger account (Periodic Reposting). Financial accounting (FI) deals with analyzing finances available to the business and presenting the analysis in a balance sheet and income statement among other financial statements. In financial accounting, memos and invoices are classified as source documents. These source documents are utilized in preparation of income statements and balance sheet at the end of a financial year (Principles of accounting.com). CO documents are not the original documents but are utilized a source documents since they display a complete original document so long as proper accounting entries are made. These documents can be relied on since in case of a defective line item, the use can trigger corrective postings from the report or document generated. Source documents are mostly utilized by those businesses that do not maintain complete records for their tr ansactions. In preparation of financial statements of a business that maintains incomplete records, the accountant starts by making adjusting entries on trail balance and journal entries in the general ledger. There is need for the user to make adjusting entries before

The Field Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Field - Essay Example ly greed for land stems from the Irish farmer’s deeply-rooted dedication to the land that feeds him and which ensures a stable homeland for his children. Add to this Bull McCabe’s cynicism toward technology. This greed for land is not due to harbored hatred from landlord-peasant disputes in the past. The Field portrays the struggle for ownership to a 4-acre land between Bull McCabe, an Irish farmer, and William Dee, an Irish businessman who came from England. Bull dreams of having his only son, Tadhg, inherit the field. This dispute over land ownership caused the murder William, which the local residents hid from the authorities. Bull’s obsession over the field makes the novel a powerful story. In fact, the book effectively depicted how the villagers, even without fully believing in the McCabes’ ethos and callous ways when they attacked William and killed him by accident, understand the feeling and ultimately protect the McCabes’ by their silence. It should also be noted that the villagers’ silence is partly caused by Bull’s threat â€Å"†¦keep your trap shut†¦There’s men around here would think nothing of puttin’ a bomb up agi’in a public door. ‘Twas done before, the time of the land division† (Keane , 1991, p. 51). Additionally, the villagers are also afraid that the McCabes might boycott people who go against Bull. Even Sgt. Leahy, who does not sympathize with Bull, is aware of this fact. Per Kean (1991), â€Å"There is nothing in your heads [he tells Bull and Tadgh], but pigs and cows and pitiful patches of land† (p. 29). Fr. Liam Mcdermot and Sgt. Leahy are both outsiders in the village, and Bull expresses even to them his convictions â€Å"When you’ll be gone, Father, to be a Canon somewhere, and the sergeant gets a wallet of notes and is going to be a Superintendent, Tadgh’s children will be milking cows and keeping donkeys away from our ditches. That’s what we have to think about and if there’s no grass, that’s the end of me

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 5

Research Paper Example Third, one consistent finding on effects of video games on young children and teenagers suggests that young children, as opposed to adults tend to exhibit aggressive and violent behavior after playing or watching violent video games (Gimplel 26). Mark Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University argues that controversy surrounds studies and researches on effects of violent video games (TSO 19). Concerning whether exposure to violent video games is a significant risk factor for children and adults, this paper examines four types of converging evidence concerning the games impact. They are laboratory experiments, cross-sectional correlation studies, longitudinal studies and field experiments. These four converging evidences continue to renew interests on this field from public policy makers, general public and researchers. Furthermore, they categorically indicate the variables which are present in video games which lead to violent behavior. This paper acknowledges that the role played by these games is like a double edged sword, with one edge bringing educational benefits, for instance video games with excellent teaching tools for motivation and learning steps, and the other edge hazardous, especially with the arrival of 3D games promoted by advancement in technology (Mahood 38). These effects are attributed to the fact that thoughts influence an individual behavior. Consequently, violent video games brings about aggressive thoughts, arousing physiological need for aggressive behavior, and directing leading to decreased social behavior such as caring and helping. Schroeder 2006, Suggests that studies have yieldedno significant results on effects of violent video games, supporting his arguments by the fact that studies of smoking and it cause on lung cancer have yielded no results. However, taking into account various empirical studies of smoking and it causes

The Art Institute Essay Example for Free

The Art Institute Essay My goals in life are not hard to achieve at all. First and foremost, I realize for a goal to be achieved,it will take determination and discipline to achieve it. Walking across that stage is my number one goal. Having the ability to graduate with my friends comes from hardwork and dedication, but I know recieving that high school diploma is just the beginning of my career. Being accepted into the Art of Institute has brought me closer to achieving my goal. My number 1 goal is to own my on Bakery (Moonies Goodies). The institute would help me achieve the basic steps and take responsiblity on moving in the right direction of my career. Art Institute will help me reach my goal in becoming a Pastery chef. Attending this institiute will also give me a step closer to reaching my main goal in my life. I realize that choosing this college was the best college for me because my goal after high school was to attend a culinary college that will offer me the skills I need in business managment, which will bring me closer to owning my own bakery. After researching the Art of Institute online, I knew that the Art Institute will give me the guidance needed to set me on the right path for my goals. To be successful in the commitment to my education will require determination and taking on more responsibilitites in my life. I know that my participation is acquired and will be given. I am looking forward to meeting and making a connection with my instructors, whom will share in a vital part of my career goal achievements. Also, looking forward to working beside peers whom are excited about their goals, such as I. I will attend any event that is being offered by the institute. Goals are challenges and in order for one to be successful, one must achieve the goals that lies within you. Having the ability to train amongst peers, is a dream come true. Thankful that I was accepted into the Art of Institute.

Factors in Health Services Management

Factors in Health Services Management Members Joanne Tolentino Rosarie Ann Nicole Trespeces Karenne Melo Daisy Kumari Shrestha The ever changing health system poses challenges that require capacity and capability in attaining success. Managing a health care industry requires extensive knowledge, skills and positive attitude in order to run the organization effectively and efficiently. To have an in-depth understanding on operations management and organizational performance, in this paper equal rights in public health care, demographic data, epidemiological characteristics, public health, culture, sources of power, and political aspects of the organization will be discussed. Demographic, Epidemiological and social environment In the health care arena, the primary focus of the health professionals is to provide care for the sick and promote health and well-being to people. The constant challenge, however, is to give equal rights for them to have access to public health. Equal rights for people is almost the goal not of just a single organization, but of every nation for their locals. Thus, equality in the delivery of health services must be observed at all times that no one shall be deprived of access to public health, regardless of age, color, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic background. The surge of the influenza incidence in Auckland, New Zealand alarms Kiwi-Asian Persuasion Medical Center (KPMC) to take necessary actions. To prevent transmission or halt the health problem, KPMC not only prepares the skilled staff to provide but also reaches out to organizations to address the health problem. Although income or money plays a crucial part in determining the type of service a person affected with influenza or any health problem could afford, the (KPMC) aspires to provide holistic care with high consideration to health equality and Treaty of Waitangi. This means that the hospital practices free financial access to health services that each individual is entitled to receive holistic care. The health budget is generated from the New Zealand government or fund from the ministry of health. To ensure that equality is addressed, the hospital will conduct research works on how to bridge or close gaps in health and social inequalities. Hence, health policies and laws shall be formulated. Other alliances, non-profit organizations, and national and international organizations related to health will be requested to provide support to attain KPMC’s aspiration in providing equality in health through financial free services to all. According to Bonita and Kjellstrom (2006), epidemiology is that the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations and the application of this study to the prevention and control of the health problems. The epidemiological data are employed to arrange and measure methods to prevent disease and as a guide to the management of the patients in whom illness has already developed. For the epidemiologic study various demographic data such as population, gender, age group, ethnicity categories are required. The main features of epidemiology is the assessment of the disease outcome in a risk of the population. The risk of population is the group of people, healthy or sick, population from different ethnic group, different age group, and a different gender. Hence, statistical data for epidemiological study and the primary source of demographic data can take from the census is much needed. New Zealand is derived from the national census, which is carried out every five years. Census encompasses information about variables, including age, gender, ethnicity, birthplace, occupation, accommodation, education, socioeconomic status, divorce, employment, long term illness etc. The analytical techniques applied to epidemiological data consist of general statistical approaches as well as special techniques that have been developed to fit the needs of particular epidemiologi cal study designs. While mathematical formula which may be used for statistical data, such as live birth, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, migrates, health and disease etc, (Koch, 2015). According to World Health Organization (2015), conditions in which individual bears, nurture, live and work that impact an extensive variety of health, operating and life quality results are the social determinants of health. These conditions are formed by the delivery of financial, authority and properties at national and global levels. Resources that improve quality of life can have an important inspiration on population health outcomes such as safe and reasonable housing, education access, safety in public, healthy food availability, local and health emergency and environments free of life- threatening. Breakthrough reports on movements to expand health and reduce inequalities has been created by the World Health Organization (WHO). Social health inequalities that have impact on the spread of influenza in Auckland are health behaviors such as unhealthy diet and inactive lifestyle, social environment or social characteristic like low income, physical environment wherein where the individual lives and the living conditions and health services such as access to low quality health care or having no insurance coverage. These determinants of health also interact with and influence person behaviors too, and these also contributes in the development of social patterning of health, illness and disease. One and all has the right to achieve holistic health that is the reason why government and non- government organizations are combating and addressing those determinants of health. Cultural and Political Environment According to Root (2015), external environment of an organization is those factors which affect the outside of an organization’s ability to function smoothly. Among the five external general environment factors which affect the organization directly one of the most critical external factors is economic environment. According to Jorge (2014), this factor talks about the comprehensive of the nature of economic system of the country, business cycle, the socio economic infrastructure etc. Other external factors, including legal or ethical, political, technological and international factors that relate to the values, attitudes and concerns of the target people and their economic capabilities to afford the services. The political, ethical and legal environment related to the organizational laws and to meet the ethical or social responsibility standards to the communities Gupta (2009). Organizational Culture The Kiwi-Asian Persuasion Medical Center is a Christian, government-run institution committed to deliver high quality holistic care to the poor, sick and the dying. This institution strongly believe that every client, regardless of their ethnicity and culture, should feel comfortable, safe and secured just like home. Thus, Kiwi-Asian Persuasion Medical Center became known for its â€Å"feel-at-home† ambiance (Study, 2003). The hospital is painted with soft, vibrant colors to promote calmness. For a more relaxing place, lazy boy chairs are provided for both the visitors and the clients. All employees must greet every client coming in and out of the hospital with a warm smile. Though they are in a hospital, patients should feel the comfort of their own home. Also, the success of this organization is because of the core values that this institution upholds (Riley, 2014. Cultural diversity is one of the core values of the culture of this institution. The workforce want all clients to be treated like family despite cultural differences. Diversity should be respected and embrace within the workplace. Another core value of this institution is team spirit, working hand in hand in providing care to the clients. Thus, creating a positive relationship with colleagues and clients. Accountability for the actions, decisions and policies made when providing care for the patient. It is also very important to practice balance. Every employee shall maintain a healthy work-life balance to avoid poor performance. Lastly, excellence in providing the best quality health care service shall be upheld at all times. This is by inspiring moments of optimism in giving care in order to create value and make a difference in the lives of every client that is admitted in this institution (Wendy, 2013). By aligning the significance of these values with the employees, Kiwi-Asian Persuasion Medical Center has successfully created a strong organizational culture. Task external environment The task environment is closer to the organization and includes the sectors that conduct day-to-day transactions with the organization and directly influence its basic operations and performance (Daft, 2012). External task environment includes competitors, competitors, suppliers, and labour market. Customers are the people and organizations in the environment that acquire goods or services from the organizations. In the health care, patients are the customers of the hospital. The success of the organization largely depends on them since they are the recipient of care. The satisfaction of the patients mirror the performance of the employees and how the managers run the organization. Competitors are the organization in the same industry. They present challenges as they vie for customers in a marketplace with similar products or services (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt., 2014). In the health care, competitors are public health organizations like hospitals that provide similar health services. According to Gupta (2009), it is important to know all the competitors, their organizational size and skills pool, their competitive advantages, their marketing strategies, off shore development. The main point here is to maintain standards by observing quality assurance and keep customers despite the existence of similar organizations. Suppliers provide the raw materials the organizations produce its output (Daft, 2012). In health care, the needed resources are the hospital supplies and equipment used in the delivery of care. They affect the organization because of the dependency of the organization on the raw materials to provide adequate care. Thus, a good team up is necessary to receive high quality supplies at lower prices in order to save money while maintaining quality (Daft, 2012). Labor market as stated by Johnson (n.d.) refers to the people a company hires to fill its position. Employees in the hospital should be more than competent and with certain characteristics in order to maintain quality services and uphold global competitiveness. Those who are involved in direct patient care should be highly qualified, skilled or trained otherwise poor health services will be afforded to patients. This in turn would cause harm and danger to both the organization and the population of people being cared for. Sources of power According to Raven (2015), leadership management and power are relatively connected. Individuals have the tendency to obey people who are powerful. Leaders have different power for different reason. Power is the capability to influence the behavior of other individual with or without enforcing force by means of diverse strategies to make a necessary action. It is an instrument that can end up to either optimistic or pessimistic results in an institution. Power is a fundamental and unpreventable part in any institution. No leaders can be effective and competent starved of understanding and use of suitable power. There are two (2) types of power, the position power and the personal power. Under position power, includes legitimate power, reward power and coercive power. On the other hand, expert power and referent power falls under personal power (French, 2012). Legitimate power is often called positional power. This power originates from the position, role and status of an individual in an institution. It typically consist of formal authority. Reward power emanates from the capacity of an individual to deliberate treasured material rewards or produce added positive incentives. Incentives take account of increase salary, role promotion and positive commendations and appraisal. Coercive power is the capacity to impact individual by means of threat and giving of sanctions and negative penalties which encompasses of direct reprimand or suppression of anticipated rewards. Knowledge is a power. Expert power comes from an individual’s superior skills and knowledge in a certain area. Individuals who exert expert power is usually valued by the institution for their problem solving skills as they can accomplish critical responsibilities. Referent power comes from the capacity of a person to appeal individuals and form their reliability and fidelity. This power comes from appeal and charisma. According to B. Meadows (2011), all sources of power can be used in combination and people often have access to more than one power for the benefit and advancement of the institutions. Leaders use diverse power tactics to force other individual into desired actions and movements. For the KPMC, reward power will be highly employed as it tends to have an influence, impression and impact on the actions, behaviors and attitudes of the employees. Consequently, it will greatly motivate and inspire employees to be an effective and efficient part of the team and to work better as there will be a reward waiting. Rewards can be either tangible or intangible. Even simply openly or secretly admiring an employee for a task well done is deliberated as reward power and can be a valuable administration tool. By employing reward power in the institution, leaders can make an alteration from controlling and leading to modelling and impelling the growth and development of the employees by using reinforcing reward power. Opinions, ideas, decisions of leaders who exercise expert power are held in high regard by the employees; hence, greatly impact and affects their actions and behaviors. Good and Bad Political Aspects In all organizations, conflict and problems may arise due to competition or rival interests between groups and individuals (Mitchell, 2005). The tension brought about by diversity should be resolved through political means. However, politics has also its downside that can sometimes lead to the total destruction of the organization. Negative politics include the use of unethical tactics to regain power. One negative approach they use is backstabbing wherein a person pretends to be a friend but all the while talking about you in detrimental ways behind your back. An example of these is saying something bad about your friend to your other colleagues to destroy her reputation. Another approach is to embrace or demolish rivals in your organization who has suffered past hurts. It is when you fire people who do not favor the takeover. Next is stealing credit to people whom credit is due. Also, territorial games exist which involve competing for resources that gives power such as relationshi ps, authority and information. Good mouthing an employee to make them transferrable is also an unethical tactic. It usually happens when an unwanted employee is suddenly given an outstanding performance which makes her more marketable and more prone for a transfer. Another negative approach is putting a weak manager in place to help secure your position. It usually happens when a manager hires an incompetent assistant manager who is more unlikely to get a promotion. Continuous use of these unethical tactics may undermine organizational goals. However, by promoting good politics it channels away employees from using negative tactics. Some influential tactics use is leading by example. A manager must be a role model to her employees by being consistent with her words and actions. Next is using consultation to encourage employees for their ideas and opinions. Assertiveness as a positive tactic is also practiced. This refers to being straightforward with the person without violating their rights. Managers often use reasoning and logic as an influential tactic to get employees to follow their orders. Another is ingratiation wherein a person acts friendly when asking others for a favor. Lastly, exchange is also an approach for influencing employees by offering a barter with others. When these political tactics are used appropriately it can promote positive resolution to the tension rising in the organization (Mitchell, 2005). References Article Library. (2015). Types of Power in Leadership. Retrieved on March 28, 2015, from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business-management/6-important-types-of-power-in-leadership/2560/ Bonita, R., Beaglehole,R., Kjellstrom, T. (2006). Basic epidemiology. Retrieved on March 26, 20015 from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2006/9241547073_eng.pdf Creative Vision Foundation. (n.d.). What is epidemiology? Retrieved on March 26, 2015 from http://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources-readers/publications/epidemiology-uninitiated/1-what-epidemiology Daft, R. (2012). Management 10th ed. USA: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (2014). The External Environment. Retrieved on March 27, 2015 from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/more-subjects/principles-of-management/managerial-environments/the-external-environment Johnson, S. (n.d.). Five Components of an Organization’s External Environment. Retrieved March 29 from http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/five-components-organizations-external-environment-8944.html Mind Tools. (2015). Five Forms of Power. Retrieved on March 28, 2015, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htm Mitchell, R. (2005). Introduction to Organizational Politics. Retrieved on March 23, 2015, from www.csun.edu/~hfmgt001/politics.doc Riley, J. (2014). Organizational Culture- The Crucial Importance of Core Values. Retrieved on March 22, 2015, from http://beta.tutor2u.net/business/blog/organisational-culture-the-crucial-importance-of-core-values Root, G. (2015). Five Components of an Organization’s External Environment. Retrieved on March 28. 2015 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-components-organizations-external-environment-17634.html Study. (2003). What is Organizational culture? Definition Characteristics. Retrieved on March 22, 2015, from http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-organizational-culture-definition-characteristics.html The Fast Track. (2011). Five Types of Power in Leadership. Retrieved on March 28, 2015, from http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2011/08/26/the-5-types-of-power-in-leadership/ Wendy. (2013). Company Core Values: Why to have them and How to define them. Retrieved on March 22, 2013, from http://blog.7geese.com/2013/03/12/benefits-of-having-core-values-and-how-to-set-them-in-your-organization/

Prohibiton :: American America History

Prohibiton What was Prohibition Introduced? In the 1920's American politics was dominated by democracy and the idea of isolationism to keep America prosperous was incredibly apparent. However in 1919, President Wilson passed the 18th Amendment to the American Constitution prohibiting the manufacture, distribution and consumption of alcoholic drinks (any drink containing over 0.5% alcohol). Prohibition was not just a novel American idea, at the turn of the Twentieth Century, other countries were also experimenting with limiting or totally banning the production, distribution and consumption of alcoholic drinks the primary origins can be found all over the world. However, to find the origins for the American Prohibition we must look back to rural America in the Nineteenth Century. Wilson was also pressured into passing the Prohibition Act by the powerful temperance movement during the Great War, claiming that alcohol was unpatriotic as it was made by American's from German descent. Even though he tried to veto the amendment, he was overturned by Congress and reluctantly passed the legislation. The law itself was amazingly ambitious as alcohol was the seventh largest industry in a nation which was ruled by "big business" and was an established and respected as part of the businesses which provided the wealth of America. Although the technical reason as to why the Prohibition Law was passed was because 66% of the Constitution voted for it, one of the main reasons why Prohibition happened was because of its mass support. By 1920, thirty-three out of forty-eight states had passed Prohibition laws, making approximately 63% of the total population of America 'dry'. The main support for Prohibition came from moral crusaders in the South who were very anti-urbanisation like the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance in Boston and the Washington Temperance Society, whose groups grew in number between the 1820's and the 1840's. These groups campaigned against the effects of drinking liquor. Often this excessive drinking was blamed on the industrialisation of the rural areas in many counties as a result of social and economic change at this time. There were some protesters like the Irish Catholics who apparently were against prohibition because of their love of gin (!) as well as the congressmen of Massachusetts who famously said that, "the better the county the higher the alcohol content". Still this was the beginning of the battle where it appeared that it was a case of "cornbelt over conveyor belt".

Doctor Faustus Essays: Psychoanalytical, Feministic, and Cultural Persp

Psychoanalytical, Feministic, and Cultural Perspectives in Dr. Faustus Christopher Marlowe's acclaimed Doctor Faustus uses many rhetorical methods to breathe life into the plot and story line. There are obviously psychoanalytical methods used, as well as certain aspects of the feministic method, somewhat less evident, but no less important are the cultural background issues that come into play. These three methods help to smooth the edges and round out the corners of this complex journey into the fictitious life of a highly educated man who appears to have anything he would need. Psychoanalytically speaking, the battles between the id and superego of Dr. Faustus, cause severe turmoil in his moral conscience. This is evident in the text by the battery of the two angels, one holy and the other evil. He even consciously battles with his id, when he cries out, "O Christ, my savior, my savior! Help to save distressed Faustus' soul." (P. 48, lines89-90) Faustus often becomes offensive with Meph...

Pictures of War that Wilfred Owen’s Poems Create :: Anthem for Doomed Youth Disabled Essays

Pictures of War that Wilfred Owen’s Poems Create Wilfred Owen was born in Shropshire in 1893; he grew up in the north of England. Doing successfully well in school Wilfred wanted to go to university. As a consequence of his farmers job he could not afford to participate in university. His father was a railway worker and therefore didn’t earn much money. Instead of spending his next few years in college, Wilfred immigrated to France to take up a career in teaching at his time in Berlitz School, the Great War, commonly known as World War 1, was undergoing its ‘birth’ and war was later declared in 1914. Two years after settling in France Wilfred decided to sign up in training to be an army officer. And later joined the regiments in 1916 posted at the River Somme. In March 1917 he was temporarily discharged from the front line because of concussion. Owen re-joined the battalion soon after the accident. Unfortunately he was once again seized from the front line as a result of ‘shell shock’. In June 1917 he was transferred to a hospital called; Craiglockart, near Edinburgh. Here he met a poet named Siegfried Sassoon. As Wilfred had already started drafting poems, Sassoon helped Owen re-draft them to improve them immensely. More than a handful of poems were produced by the two. Wilfred’s first work was published in 1918, just before he returned to the front line. In September, Owen was awarded the military cross. Wilfred later dies on an attack on the Oise-Sombre canal. I am going to analyse and show incite to his three most famous poems; Anthem for doomed youth, Dulce et decorum and disabled. ‘Anthem for doomed youth’ is a relatively short poem, but the saying ‘less is more’ is definitely relevant in this case. The title alone represents an ‘anthem’ a song or prayer, for the futile soldiers. The main technique used is the question and answer method. The first line is the question; ‘What passing bells for these who die as cattle?’ This is comparing the soldiers to cattle and stating that in the battlefield the soldiers die in such great masses that they can be easily compared to cattle who get murdered in slaughtered houses. ‘Only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle’ This line contains onomatopoeia; ‘Stuttering rifles....’ This represents the sound the guns make when fired. Also this line has alliteration; ‘Rifles rapid rattle.’ This helps you set the scene of the massacring battlefield. The poem has personification within it; ‘Only the monstrous anger of the guns’ This illustrates that the gun has anger, a personality if you will. Which theoretically speaking is incorrect.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 22

The afternoon after Elena's â€Å"discipline,† Damon took out a room in the same complex where Dr. Meggar lived. Lady Ulma stayed in the doctor's office until between them, Sage, Damon, and Dr. Meggar had healed her completely. She never talked about sad things now. She told them so many stories about her childhood estate that they felt they could walk around it and recognize every room, vast though it was. â€Å"I suppose it's home to rats and mice now,† she said wistfully at the conclusion of one story. â€Å"And spiders and moths.† â€Å"But why?† Bonnie said, failing to see the signals that both Meredith and Elena were giving her not to ask. Lady Ulma tipped her head back to look at the ceiling. â€Å"Because†¦of General Verantz. The middle-aged demon who saw me when I was only fourteen. When he had the army attack my home, they slaughtered every living thing they found inside – except me and my canary. My parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles†¦my younger brothers and sisters. Even my cat sleeping on the window seat. General Verantz had me brought in front of him, just as I was, in my nightgown and bare feet, with my hair unbrushed and coming out of its braid, and beside him was my canary with the nighttime cloth off its cage. It was still alive and hopping about as cheerful as ever. And that made everything else that happened seem worse somehow – and yet more like a dream, too. It's difficult to explain. â€Å"Two of the general's men were holding me when they brought me before him. They were really propping me up more than keeping me from running, though. I was so young, you see, and everything kept fading in and out. But I remember exactly what the general said to me. He said, ‘I told this bird to sing and it sang. I told your parents I wanted to give you the honor of being my wife and they refused. Now look over there. Will you be like the canary or your parents, I wonder?' And he pointed to a dim corner of the room – of course it was all torchlight then, and the torches had been put out for the night. But there was enough light for me to see that there was a heap of round objects, with thatch or grass at one side of them. At least that is what I first thought – truly. I was that innocent, and I believe shock had done something to my mind.† â€Å"Please,† Elena said, stroking Lady Ulma's hand gently. â€Å"You don't have to keep on with this. We understand – â€Å" But Lady Ulma didn't seem to hear the words. She said, â€Å"And then one of the general's men held up a sort of coconut with very long thatch at the top, braided. He swung it casually – and all of a sudden I saw it for what it really was. It was my mother's head.† Elena choked involuntarily. Lady Ulma looked around at the three girls with steady, dry eyes. â€Å"I suppose you think me very callous for being able to talk about such things without breaking down.† â€Å"No, no – † Elena began hastily. She herself was shaking, even after tuning down her psychic senses to their least extent. She hoped Bonnie wouldn't faint. Lady Ulma was speaking again. â€Å"War, casual violence, and tyranny are all I have known since my childhood innocence was crushed in that moment. It is kindness now that astounds me, that makes my eyes sting with tears.† â€Å"Oh, don't cry,† begged Bonnie, throwing her arms around the woman impulsively. â€Å"Please don't. We're here for you.† Meanwhile Elena and Meredith were regarding each other with knitted eyebrows and quick shrugs. â€Å"Yes, please don't cry,† Elena put in, feeling faintly guilty, but determined to try Plan A. â€Å"But tell us, why did your family estate end up in such bad condition?† â€Å"It was the fault of the general. He was sent to faraway lands to fight foolish, meaningless wars. When he left he would take most of his retinue with him – including slaves who were in favor at the moment. When he left once, three years after he had attacked our home, I was not in favor, and I was not chosen to be with him. I was lucky. His entire battalion was wiped out; the household members who went with him were taken captive or slaughtered. He had no heir and his property here reverted to the Crown, which had no use for it. It has lain unoccupied for all these many years – looted many times, no doubt, but with its true secret, the secret of the jewels, undiscovered†¦as far as I know.† â€Å"The Secret of the Jewels,† Bonnie whispered, clearly putting it all in capital letters, as if it were a mystery novel. She still had an arm around Lady Ulma. â€Å"What secret of the jewels?† Meredith said more calmly. Elena couldn't speak for the delicious shivers that were running through her. This was like being part of some magical play. â€Å"In my parents' day, it was common to hide your wealth somewhere on your estate – and to keep the knowledge of its hiding place strictly to the owners. Of course, my father, as a designer and trader in jewels, had more to hide than most people knew of. He had a wonderful room that seemed to me something like Aladdin's cave. It was his workshop, where he kept his raw gems as well as finished pieces that had been commissioned or that he designed for my mother or out of his imagination.† â€Å"And no one ever found that?† Meredith said. There was just the slightest tinge of skepticism in her voice. â€Å"If anyone did, I never heard about it. Of course, they could have gotten the knowledge out of my father or mother, in time – but the general was not a meticulous and patient vampire or kitsune, but a rough and impatient demon. He killed my parents as he stormed through the house. It never occurred to him that I, a child of fourteen, might share the knowledge.† â€Å"But you did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie whispered, fascinated, taking the story where it had to go. â€Å"But I did. And I do now.† Elena gulped. She was still trying to stay calm, to be more like Meredith, to maintain a cool head. But just as she opened her mouth to be coolheaded, Meredith said, â€Å"What are we waiting for?† and jumped to her feet. Lady Ulma seemed to be the most tranquil person there. She also seemed slightly bewildered and almost timid. â€Å"You mean that we should ask our master for an audience?† â€Å"I mean that we should go out there and get those jewels!† Elena exclaimed. â€Å"Although, yes, Damon would be a big asset if there's anything that takes strength to lift. Sage, too.† She couldn't understand why Lady Ulma wasn't more excited. â€Å"Don't you see?† Elena said, her mind racing. â€Å"You can have your household back again! We can do our best to fix it up the way it was when you were a child. I mean, if that's what you want to do with the money. But I'd love, at least, to see the Aladdin's cave!† â€Å"But – well,† Lady Ulma seemed suddenly distressed. â€Å"I had meant to ask Master Damon for another favor – although the money from the jewels might help with that.† â€Å"What is it that you want?† Elena said as gently as she could. â€Å"And you don't need to call him Master Damon. He freed you days ago, remember?† â€Å"But surely that was just a – a celebration of the moment?† Lady Ulma still looked puzzled. â€Å"He didn't make it official at the Servile Offices or anything, did he?† â€Å"If he didn't it's because he didn't know!† Bonnie cried out at the same time as Meredith said, â€Å"We don't really understand the protocol. Is that what you need to do?† Lady Ulma seemed able only to nod her head. Elena felt humble. She guessed that this woman, a slave for more than twenty-two years, must find true freedom difficult to believe in. â€Å"Damon meant it when he said we were all free,† she said, kneeling by Lady Ulma's chair. â€Å"He just didn't know all the things he had to do. If you tell us, we can tell him, and then we can all go to your old estate.† She was about to get up again, when Bonnie said, â€Å"Something's wrong. She isn't as happy as she was before. We have to find out what it is.† By opening her psychic perceptions a bit, Elena could tell that Bonnie was right. She stayed where she was, kneeling by Lady Ulma's chair. â€Å"What is it?† she said, because the woman seemed to bare her soul most when she, Elena, asked the questions. â€Å"I had hoped,† Lady Ulma said slowly, â€Å"that Master Damon might buy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She flushed, but struggled on. â€Å"Might find it in his heart to buy one more slave. The†¦the father of my child.† There was a moment of perfect silence, and then all three girls were talking, all three, Elena guessed, trying frantically to do what she herself was working at, which was not mentioning that she had assumed Old Drohzne was the father. But of course he couldn't be, Elena scolded herself. She's happy about this pregnancy – and who could be happy to have a child by a disgusting monster like Old Drohzne? Besides, he didn't have a clue that she might be pregnant – and didn't care. â€Å"It might be easier said than done,† Lady Ulma said, when the babble of reassurances and questions had died down a little. â€Å"Lucen is a jeweler, a renowned man who creates pieces that†¦that remind me of my father's. He will be expensive.† â€Å"But we've got Aladdin's cave to explore!† Bonnie said gleefully. â€Å"I mean, you'll have enough if you sell off the jewelry, right? Or do you need more?† â€Å"But that is Master Damon's jewelry,† Lady Ulma said, seeming horrified. â€Å"Even if he did not realize it when he inherited all of Old Drohzne's property, he became my owner, and the owner of all my property†¦.† â€Å"Let's go get you freed and then we'll take things one step at a time,† Meredith said in her firmest and most rational voice. Dear Diary, Well, I am writing to you still as a slave. Today we freed Lady Ulma, but decided that Meredith and Bonnie and I should remain â€Å"personal assistants.† This is because Lady Ulma said Damon would seem odd and unfashionable if he didn't have several beautiful girls as courtesans. There is actually an upside to this, which is that as courtesans we need to have beautiful clothes and jewelry all the time. Since I've been wearing the same pair of jeans ever since that b*st*rd Old Drohzne sliced up the pair I wore into this place, you can imagine that I'm excited. But, truly, it's not just because of pretty clothes I'm excited. Everything that happened since we freed Lady Ulma and then went to her old estate has been a wonderful dream. The house was run down, and obviously the home of wild animals who used it as a lavatory as well as a bedroom. We even found the tracks of wolves and other animals upstairs, which led to the question of whether werewolves live in this world. Apparently they do, and some in very high positions under various feudal lords. Maybe Caroline would like to try a vacation here to learn about the real werewolves though – they're said to hate humans so much that they won't even have human or vampire (once human) slaves. But back to Lady Ulma's house. Its foundation is of stone and it's paneled inside with hardwood, so the basic structure is fine. The curtains and tapestries are all hanging in shreds, of course, so it's sort of spooky to go inside with torches and see them dangling above and around you. Not to mention the giant spiderwebs. I hate spiders more than anything. But we went inside, with our torches seeming like smaller versions of that giant crimson sun that always sits on the horizon, staining everything outside the color of blood, and we shut the doors and lit a fire in a giant fireplace in what Lady Ulma calls the Great Hall. (I think it's where you eat or have parties – it has an enormous table on a dais at one side, and a room for minstrels above what must be the dance floor. Lady Ulma said that this is where the servants all sleep at night, too (the Great Hall, not the minstrel gallery). Then we went upstairs, where we saw – I swear – several dozen bedrooms with very large four-poster beds that are going to need new mattresses and sheets and coverlets and hangings, but we didn't stay to look around. There were bats hanging from the ceiling. We headed for Lady Ulma's mother's workroom. It was a very large room where at least forty people could sit and sew the clothes that Lady Ulma's mother designed. But here's the exciting part! Lady Ulma went to one of the wardrobes in the room and moved away all the tattered, moth-eaten clothes that were in it. And she pressed some different places at the back of the cupboard and the whole back of the cupboard slid out! Inside it was a very narrow stairway going straight down! I kept thinking about Honoria Fell's crypt and wondering if some homeless vampire might have taken up residence in the room downstairs, but I knew that was silly because there were spiderwebs just inside the door. Damon still insisted that he go down first because he has the best eyesight in the dark, but I think the truth is that he was just curious to see what was down there. We each followed him one at a time, trying to be careful with the torches, and†¦well, I can't find the right words for what we discovered. For just a few minutes I was disappointed because everything on the big table down there was dusty rather than sparkly, but then Lady Ulma began to gently brush jewels off with a special cloth and Bonnie found sacks and packages and she poured them out – and it was like pouring out a rainbow! Damon found a cabinet where there were drawers and drawers of necklaces, bracelets, rings, armlets, anklets, earrings, nose rings, and hairpins and ornaments, too! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I poured out a pouch and found that I had a huge handful of glorious white diamonds dripping through my fingers, some of them as big as my thumbnail. I saw white pearls and black pearls, both smaller and perfectly matched, and huge and in marvelous shapes: almost as big as apricots with pink or golden or gray sheens to them. I saw sapphires the size of quarters, with stars you could see almost from across the room. I held handfuls of emeralds and peridots and opals and rubies and tourmalines and amethysts – and a lot of lapis lazuli, for the discriminating vampire, of course. And the jewelry that was already made up was so beautiful it made my throat ache. I know Lady Ulma had a quiet little cry, but I think it was partly from happiness as we all kept complimenting her on her jewels. In days she has gone from being a slave who owned nothing to an incredibly rich woman who owns a house and all the means she would ever need to keep it up in style. We decided that even though she is going to marry her lover, it was best at first for Damon to buy him quietly and free him quietly, but to play â€Å"Head of the Household† for as long as we are here. During that time we will treat Lady Ulma as family, and will put the jeweler Lucen back to work until we leave, when he and Lady Ulma can quietly take Damon's place. The feudal lords around here are not demons anymore, but vampires, and they have less objection to humans owning property. Have I told you about Lucen? He's a wonderful artist with jewels! He has a burning need to create – in his early days as a slave he would create with mud and weeds, imagining that he was making jewelry. Then he got lucky and was apprenticed to a jeweler. He's felt sorry for Lady Ulma for so long, and loved her for so long, that it's like a little miracle that they are truly able to get together – and most importantly, as free citizens. We were afraid that Lucen might not like the idea of us buying him as a slave and not freeing him until we leave, but he never thought he'd be free – because of his talent. He's a slow, gentle, kind man, with a neat little beard and gray eyes that remind me of Meredith's. And he's so amazed at being treated decently and not worked around the clock that he would have accepted anything, just to be allowed to be near Lady Ulma. I guess he was an apprentice when her father was a jeweler, and he fell in love with her all those years ago, but he thought he would never, never ever be able to be with her, because she was a young lady of quality and he was a slave. They're so happy together! Every day Lady Ulma looks more beautiful, and younger. She asked permission from Damon to dye her hair all black, and he told her she could dye it pink if she liked, and now she just looks incredibly beautiful. I can't believe I ever thought of her as an old hag, but that's what agony and fear and hopelessness do to you. Every one of those gray hairs was from being a slave, with no property, no say in her future, no safety, no ability even to keep her children, if she had them. I forgot to tell you the other upside of Meredith, Bonnie, and I being â€Å"personal assistants† for a while. It's that we can employ a lot of poor women who make their living by sewing, and Lady Ulma actually wants to design and show them how to make our finest clothes. We told her that she could just relax, but she says all her life she's fantasized about being a designer like her mother and now she's dying to do it – with three completely different types of girl to dress. I'm dying to see what she'll come up with: she's already started sketching and tomorrow the man who sells fabric will come and she'll pick the materials. Meanwhile Damon has hired about two hundred people (really!) to clean out Lady Ulma's estate, put up new wall hangings and curtains, refurbish the plumbing system, polish up the furniture that has kept nicely, and to get new furniture where things have fallen apart. Oh, and to plant ready-grown flowers and trees in the gardens and put in fountains and all kinds of stuff. With that many people working, we ought to be able to move in in just a matter of days. All this has just one purpose, aside from making Lady Ulma happy. It's so that Damon and his â€Å"personal assistants† will be accepted by high society as the season of parties begins this year. Because I've kept the best for last. Both Lady Ulma and Sage could immediately identify the people in the riddles that Misao gave to us! It just goes to prove what I thought before, that Misao never imagined that we'd actually make it here, or that we could get entrance to the places where they've hidden the two halves of the fox key. But there's a very easy way to get invited into the houses we need to get into. If we're the newest, splashiest nouveau riche (sp?) around, and if we circulate the story that Lady Ulma has been restored to her rightful place, and if everyone wants to know about her – we'll get invited to parties! And that's how we get into the two estates we need to visit to look for the halves of the key that we need to free Stefan! And we're incredibly lucky, because this is the time of year when everyone begins to give parties, and both households we want to visit are having early celebrations: one is a gala, and one is a spring soiree to celebrate the first flowers. I know my writing is shaky now. I'm shaky myself at the thought that we are actually going to look for the two halves of the fox key that will let us break Stefan out of his prison. Oh, diary, it's late – and I can't – I can't write about Stefan. To be here in the same city with him, to know the direction to his prison†¦and yet to not be able to get to see him. My eyes are so blurred I can't see what I'm writing. I wanted to get some sleep to be ready for another day of running around, supervising, and watching Lady Ulma's estate blossom like a rose – but now I'm afraid I'll just have nightmares about Stefan's hand slowly slipping out of mine.